Georgia (the ex-Soviet Republic, not the U.S. state) is now ahead of the United States in economic freedom!
Can Americans learn from its example?
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My producer Maxim Lott spent months in Georgia to find out.
Georgia was extremely poor about 20 years ago. The country suffered from Soviet occupation and communist mismanagement for more than half a century. After that, brutal civil wars wrecked the country.
But then, an eccentric libertarian multi-millionaire became economy minister, with nearly free reign to make "Everything private, as much as possible."
Half of the government agencies were abolished. Licensing was cut, and a 20% flat tax was instituted.
This led to an economic boom, Georgian member of Parliament Zurab Japaridze tells Maxim Lott. The country’s economy grew 10% a year.
But the country still has many problems. You can watch the video above for the full story.